Watts from Waste:
A Sustainable
Future for
Datacenters
Avery Miller, Connor Dailey, Luke Priest, Jonah Simon
Prepared for the OSLN Design Challenge Project
December 2024
Introduction
11th Grade Dayton Regional STEM students
Proposing a plan to increase sustainability in
Computer Science
English, Government, Algebra II
The Ohio State Learning Network
Sustainability in Aerospace in collaboration with
StarLab
Annual design challenge
Who are we?
What is the OSLN Design Challenge?
Reduce thermal waste and
increase efficiency in data
centers
Our Goals:
Problem Statement
Current Problems Current EPA Policies
Our solution is not used very
much, and right now, we are
wasting possible reuseable
energy
There is no current EPA
Policies on our current
problem
Solution
Heat
Pump
TurbineTurbine
DatacenterDatacenter
BathtubBathtub
WasherWasher
A/CA/C
Solution Description
Water is first pumped to the servers, transferring the heat of the servers to the
water
Once the water is heated up, it passes through a heat pump, increasing the
temperature enough to boil
After this step, the hot water can be directed to two destinations
The first destination is moving the water to local houses and buildings,
using it to heat any appliance or machine that requires hot water
The second destination is to a turbine
The water boils and generates steam, going through a turbine to produce
electricity, reusing a little bit of the power consumed by datacenters
How Will This Help Sustainability?
Renewing excess
thermal energy will
reduce waste
Reduce thermal
pollution in the air
Reducing data-center
cooling
Reusing energy leads to
less fossil fuels
Maintaining a data
center becomes more
economical
Cheaper services
Creates more
services
Analysis of Alternatives
One of our first
alternatives was to use
the heat generated from
servers to keep a green
room at a good
temperature
Our solution is better
because it is easier to
regulate temperatures
using heat pumps than
just by server heat
Our second alternative was
to use the heat created in
server rooms to boil water
(without using heat pumps)
so we could transfer it into
energy
The new solution is better
because ours operates at
higher temperatures (using a
heat pump) which allows for
more efficient energy
production
Green rooms Server roomsHeat pumps
To produce energy
through heating up
water
Reduce thermal
waste
Conclusion
Data centers produce a large amount heat
and use a large amount of energy
What we can do with the heat they
produce:
Generate - Use the heat to generate
power using steam power generation.
Reuse - Use the heat in local air
conditioning, washing, and
shower/hot water applications
This will reduce the energy used to
cool datacenters + reduce the energy
that they use to run
The use of heat pumps to bring heated water to a boil for power
generation and residential water usage
Our Initial Solution
Feedback
Changes That Would be Made
Math data needs to be highlighted
The presentation needs to be more professional
Some steps are unclear and need to be rewritten
Need more info on if a system like this is feasible
Get more expert opinions on solutions
Test the solution in some ways
More in depth solution visualization
Maybe a 3D model
Reflection
Works Cited
Alkrush, A. A., Salem, M. S., O. Abdelrehim, & A.A. Hegazi. (2024). Data centers
cooling: A critical review of techniques, challenges, and energy saving solutions.
International Journal of Refrigeration, 160, 246–262. https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.ijrefrig.2024.02.007
Bailes, A. (2014, October 8). Using Server Farms to Heat Buildings.
GreenBuildingAdvisor. https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/article/using-server-
farms-to-heat-buildings
Lee, A. (2024, October 22). New Thermal Interface Material Could Cool Down
Energy-Hungry Data Centers. UT News. https://news.utexas.edu/2024/10/22/new-
thermal-interface-material-could-cool-down-energy-hungry-data-centers/
Monroe, M. (2016, May 10). How to Reuse Waste Heat from Data Centers
Intelligently. Datacenterknowledge.com. https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/
cooling/how-to-reuse-waste-heat-from-data-centers-intelligently
Pallardy, R. (2024, January 4). Reusing Waste Heat from Data Centers to Make
Things Grow. Informationweek.com. https://www.informationweek.com/sustainability/
reusing-waste-heat-from-data-centers-to-make-things-grow
